Palazzo dei Principi di Carpegna

The Counts of Carpegna ruled their small county, at the foot of the mountain of the same name, from the 13th century until 1819. Around 1675, Cardinal Gaspare Carpegna commissioned the Roman architect Giovanni Antonio De Rossi to design the palace, which was completed in 1696 after more than twenty years of work.

It is one of the most imposing buildings in the province of Pesaro and Urbino: a massive structure with a grand portal and a park once used for hunting. Since 1851 it has been back in the hands of the family descended from the cardinal, who live there and open part of it to visitors.

The guided tour, led by the family's historians, takes you through the cellars, the stables, the monumental atrium, the little chapel of relics and the noble floors with their frescoes, stuccowork and period furnishings. You enter a real princely palace that is still lived in.

Carpegna is the gateway to the Sasso Simone and Simoncello Park. Above the village rises Monte Carpegna: the climb to the Cippo was where Marco Pantani used to train, and every year the gran fondo 'Il Carpegna mi basta' commemorates him. The village produces Carpegna DOP ham.